


Love For Rent

by HobbitHoleDestroyer



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Frodo is probaably very out of character Thorin is a bit too nosy but we love him anyway, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-02
Updated: 2013-09-22
Packaged: 2017-12-13 18:19:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/827354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HobbitHoleDestroyer/pseuds/HobbitHoleDestroyer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Bilbo's sweet, sweet nephew suggests to open up his spare rooms for rent, how could he just turn the young man down? Expect Thilbo Bagginshield. Rated Teen and up for now, could definitely change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You Lonely Bastard

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope that this story gets enough hype so that I don't have to discontinue it. :I

Frodo sure regretted being the favorite nephew of Bilbo now. The middle aged man rambled about his less than abysmally dull life. Of course, since he was the only family he would speak to, he would listen to every word and try to help him. He played with a dark brown curl as his uncle started again.

"Gandalf may not even come by for a while, because of his company…I guess I'll once more be alone for a time." Frodo rolled his eyes. An idea popped in his head that could potentially get his uncle off of his back for a while. He perked as he spoke, "Hey uncle? You still have those two empty bedrooms in your house, right?" There was a short silence. "W-why yes. But…what does that have to do with anything?"

Frodo smiled as he took the bait. "You seem lonely. I think you should rent out those couple of rooms! Maybe you'll meet someone out of it?" He knew Bilbo rather hated to let people he did not know into his home, but he always took his advice into consideration.

Bilbo winced at the thought. How could he possibly allow a stranger into his home…but the lad was right. Maybe it would be good for him to meet some new people. He sighed before answering, "I guess…I could at least try that…" Frodo almost squealed in excitement, bouncing around his apartment. He coughed, "Would you like some help moving stuff around?" Bilbo peered into the two rooms. There wasn't much in there. A trunk or two…some books on a bookshelf. "No, that's quite alright…"

"How about signs or something? I could put an ad out?" Bilbo hardly paid attention to how excited the other sounded. He was still unsure of the idea of others living in his house. "Uh…if you could-" "On it!"

He hung up, and Bilbo was left standing in his hall. "What have I done..?" He walked out to his living room, flopping down on the couch. 'What if I get a couple of weirdos,' he thought. He looked to the clock. It was seven at night. "I'm not hungry…time to sleep then."

"Gandalf! I have great news!" A pair of grey eyebrows rose. "And what is that, my dear boy?" Frodo giggled in joy. "I got Bilbo to open up his rooms for rent!" The old man smiled. "Great! I have need for a couple of rooms!" The boy was surprised. He almost stuttered, "Really? I could call him back up and tell him they're ready to be filled!"  
"Please, if you will…"

The phone rang. 'At least I was unable to fall asleep,' Bilbo thought. He answered, "Hello?" "I've got those rooms filled already!"

Bilbo's stomach began to churn. 'I haven't even had the time to accept this yet!' he screamed in his head. "Uncle?" "Yes, yes. Tell them alright." Frodo immediately hung up.

He got out of bed. 'I need some tea…'


	2. Here You Are!

Bilbo had been informed that his guests would arrive around noon. He skipped breakfast and his normal snack since he had been so nervous.

Noon passed. Then it was one thirty. 'Where are these bloody-? 'He was immediately cut off by the doorbell ringing. He jumped up from the table, stumbled to the door, and tried to compose himself as whoever stood on the other side of his large green door waited impatiently, resorting to beating and knocking on the door.

Bilbo took a deep breath, swiftly opened the door and began his introduction, "Hello, I'm Bilbo Baggins, and I'll assume you're here about the rooms?" Bilbo calmed himself enough to scan over the two in his doorway. Two very young men, maybe Frodo's age, stood on the porch. One with long blond hair and a thick, short beard along with a mustache, and the other who had extremely messy, dark brown hair and only a bit of fuzz on his face.

They seemed to pay no mind to what Bilbo said, walking right past him as they were allowed in. They looked around and he became nervous. Eventually, they turned to him smiling, "Well, hello Mr. Boggins!" The blond, most likely the older of the two, started, "I would like to thank you for allowing us and our friends to stay in your home!" The brown haired boy lied down on the couch, leisurely stroking his hair. "Yeah, nice place you have here!"

Bilbo cleared his throat, "It's quite alright. And you two are…?" The blond grinned, "Fili…" the brunette stuck his hand in the air, "…and Kili!" Bilbo thought for a moment before continuing, "Right and you mentioned friends?" Bilbo was fin with a few more people, he just expected the two available rooms to be filled with these two boys alone.

Kili turned to look at his host, noticing the scared look on his face. He wished to press the matter and make this overly-gentle-looking man squirm, but was interrupted by his brother, "Yes, I hope they won't be too much…"

Bilbo nodded, walking toward the hall. "Anyway, would you like me to guide you to your rooms?" When he turned on his heel the two were already close behind him looking over joyed. Bilbo nodded, "Right this way then…" As they stood in front of the doors, the bell rang again. "You should get that!" Kili and Fili immediately rushed into either room, leaving Bilbo to get the door.

Yet another exhale and the door was heaved open. "Hello, I'm Bilbo Baggins. It seems your friends are already…..here?" He faltered as he looked up at thee man in front of him. He had to have been two heads taller than he was. His face expressed anger, and the tattoos on his bald head terrified poor Bilbo, along with the grizzly looking beard he adorned. "Dwalin." Bilbo visibly shook, watching the man duck into his house and look around as the brothers had done. "W-would you like me to sh-show you where-"another quickly shoved his way through the entrance.

An old man with a long grey beard and jolly face entered, plucked Bilbo's hand up in his, shaking it vigorously. "Balin!" "Bilbo…Baggins," he said with a nod.

"Where's the food?" Dwalin asked as he entered the kitchen. The brothers immediately ran out at the sound of their friend's booming, demanding voice. "Dwalin! You're here!" They latched onto the man, holding on as tight as they could, but were shoved away. Balin walked off to the kitchen to join them.

Just as Bilbo was about to close the door, a boot was stuck into the crack and it flew open, blowing Bilbo off into the wall. A man with a strange hat and long braided brown hair, along with a brown beard much like Fili's, entered. His line of vision went straight to the man on the floor. "Well, don't just sit there! That's no place for our host! Even if he has such a short stature!" The man lifted him from the ground, staring at him deeply. Bilbo almost shivered in discomfort at the close proximity. "Bofur," the man greeted as he walked off.

Behind him came a very large man with striking red hair. "Bombur," he stated as he shook Bilbo's hand. Then behind him was a rather deranged looking man, a black beard with traces of white, who shook his fist at him, glaring into his soul, chanting words from an otherworldly language. The large man clarified, "Bifur."

The three walked off to greet the others. 'Wait…how many was that? Fili, Kili, Dwalin, Balin, Bofur, Bo-,' Bilbo's thoughts were cut off as another trio waltzed in. 'MORE!?' They stood in the threshold in a line. The oldest stretched out his hand to Bilbo, "I am Dori. This is Nori," he said pointing to the man with such bizarre looking hair, "And this is Ori. Don't feel bad if they don't talk to you right away, they're shy!" Nori huffed as he walked along, and Ori followed close behind. As Dori went to follow them Bilbo could see such intricate braids all around the old man's head.

Bilbo was able to sort his thoughts as they all crammed into his kitchen. His poor…poor kitchen….He counted everyone who came through. 'Ten….there are ten bloody people in my house!? How will they squeeze themselves into only two rooms?' Just as that thought flew by, yet another two came through the door! Bilbo was ready to break down into a hysterical fit of laughter. This had to be a joke, right? RIGHT!?

"Oin." "Gloin." After their short introduction, they continued bickering on their way straight to the kitchen as if they had predicted they would all meet in that room. Bilbo rubbed at his eyes, believing it all to be a dream, when another ring sounds through the house. "The damned door is open! Just get in here!" he exclaimed.

He was so fed up with the crowd in his house, he didn't care anymore. But when he finally looked up at this one man who came in, his brain turned to mush. Long, jet black hair sprouted from his head and he had a very thick, nice beard. He appeared to be very calm and thoughtful as he too, looked around his house. His piercing blue eyes landed on Bilbo and he almost gave an amused look. Bilbo, however, squeaked at suddenly being noticed and tried his greeting once more, "H-hello, I'm Ba-Bilbo B-Baggins…" The man nodded, "Thorin Oakenshield."

Something about the man's smooth voice made Bilbo slightly uncomfortable, but for now, he didn't care. He watched this man walk off to join the others, who he could now clearly hear pillaging his pantry. As he was about to rush off to stop them, he heard a cough come from behind him. He turned to find…

"….Gandalf…."


	3. I Could Get Used To This

The tall man invited himself in, swiftly pushing past Bilbo, who was still in a daze over the many people he had in his kitchen. He completely ignored the smaller man, moving right along to the hall. "Gandalf! What's going on!?" Bilbo fumed and pouted. He expected not to see the old man for at least a few weeks, as was the usual amount of time he would be gone.

Gandalf just stared inside the kitchen as dishes clicked, heels thumped on the ground, and chairs creaked. Snapping out of his trance, Bilbo sprinted to see what had become of his dining area. A table cloth, of which he did not remember previously placing, lay over the table, now with the leaflets added to fit all fourteen of them. Food just filled the whole table. Bilbo couldn't imagine he had enough to actually fill the table before he saw his fridge and pantry were emptied.

Bilbo huffed, "I will not have you waltz into my house and take all of my food!" Twenty eight hands suddenly ceased their activity, and fourteen heads turned to stare at the poor, beardless man. Bilbo felt a chill. The first to break the silence was Oin. "WHAT!?" Everyone save for Thorin broke out into laughter. Glasses chinked and food was handed around.

The outraged host waved for Gandalf's attention. "If you could be so kind as to come over here and tell me what is going on?" The old man stood from his seat, allowing Bilbo to lead them back into the hall. "What do you mean what is going on? You were looking to fill those rooms, were you not? I have brought my friends here to fill them!"

Bilbo's jaw dropped. "I thought you said you were going to be busy!? Why are you here, with them!?" Bilbo could not keep himself from pacing and pulling at his curls. "I will be busy. These fine gentlemen will be moving in somewhere nearby, and the last place they stayed in kicked them all out just a couple nights ago. It was a race for them to pack up before the cops were called on them!"

This did not satisfy the short man, especially when a thought passed through his head, "Why are they not staying in your home? You have a nice spacious house!" Gandalf coughed, "My house? Don't be silly! I would never let more than two of these men, disregarding Fili and Kili, in MY house at a time!"

He chuckled at the look that washed over Bilbo's face. "And you've allowed them ALL into my house!?" Gandalf looked down to shield the smile coming over his face, "Well, I believe you were the one to let them all into your house, Mr. Baggins."

Bilbo peered into the room once more. Already, half the food over the table was devoured or had disappeared. He became intrigued with the way they interacted with each other. Accustomed to the gentle, well-mannered nature of his relatives, he was shocked to watch the display in front of him.

At the end of the table that was quite visible to him sat Bombur. Bofur pounded on the table cracking jokes with a crooked smile on his face. Bifur swung his fist around, making incomprehensible noise in Dwalin's direction as the scary looking man guffawed into his turkey leg. Gloin talked to Oin, making him blush, while across from them sat Dori, hands clasped over Ori's ears while Nori sat boredly staring at the items hung on the walls. The calm old man, Balin ate with a smile on his face. Thorin sat on the opposite end, obscuring Bilbo's view of Fili, but could see the livid look on Kili's face as he shouted across the table.

Bilbo relaxed as they no longer looked like they were destroying his home. He looked up to Gandalf, "How long will they be here?" Gandalf stared off into space until he stated, "Well, you never said it was a limited offer on the rooms…." At this point, Bilbo realized something. "How did you even find out about this?" Gandalf replied, reclining in a nearby chair, "Your nephew, Frodo, informed me, and I knew that this would be the perfect place to keep them."

He shook his head trying to make sense of it all. 'The point of this WAS to meet new people anyway…I just didn't think it would be this many at once!' He looked over the group once more. Some like Bofur, Fili, Kili, and Ori looked over at him and gave a smile, to which he smiled back. "I guess I could take them…."

Gandalf stood, "Great, because otherwise, they'd be out in my front lawn." Bilbo gave an exasperated sigh. "I'm going to trust you can handle these guys. They really aren't that bad, they just may seem a tad intimidating at first. I will return first thing in the morning."

Before Bilbo could protest, the old man walked out, shutting the door. Bilbo sheepishly strolled over to the kitchen, where he took the empty seat that had been prepared for Gandalf. He sat in between Kili and Oin. He looked at every plate, once full of food, but turned to nothing but scraps in less than ten minutes. The plates sat in front of everyone else were filled enough so that an avalanche could form on every one. He picked his fork at the bones to scavenge for little bits, giving up.

Suddenly he felt everyone's stare on him. He looked up, finding his feeling to be correct. He gulped and put his head back down. Bofur stood suddenly, a piece of ham in his fingers, tossing it onto Bilbo's plate. A few others followed suit, tossing various items onto his plate until his was equally as overflowing as everyone else's.

'Wow,' was all he could think. He gave an impish smile to them and a small thank you, and then they returned to their meal. Bilbo's eyes momentarily came across Thorin's plate. He had definitely finished, waiting for everyone else to finish as well. As he looked up from the plate to his face he found the man to be staring directly at him. Bilbo blushed, turning back to his own plate. 'Mind your own business Bilbo!"

As their meal was finished, Dwalin, Bifur, and Nori did the dishes. The other ten guests sat at the table working out who would be in which room.

"I HAVE to be with FILI!" called Kili, to which his brother nodded. Dori insisted that he stay close to Ori and Nori as to keep them out of trouble. Nori scoffed while Dwalin and Bifur laughed at him. Thorin sat at the head of the table silent, staring down at the table. Bilbo left them to their affairs as he went off to take a shower.

"Thorin? What about you?" Balin asked the seemingly distressed man. He shrugged answering, "I guess Fili and Kili are my responsibility…" 'Our host is quite peculiar. I can't believe he caught me staring and said nothing of it….but I suppose- "Will you need any help with anything?" Bilbo had walked in in his sweats and tee-shirt.

Thorin shook his head, "That won't be necessary. You've done enough for us already." Bilbo swallowed the lump in his throat, muttering an 'alright' and returning to his room.

'A very peculiar man indeed…'


	4. Bloody Rough Day

Bilbo came out from his room at midnight. He had no clue what woke him up, but he was up, so he was going to check on his company. He opened the door to the left. Eight people to that room. His eyes scanned them all. Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori, Ori. As he stared at them, he realized that no one walked in with a suit case, change of clothes, or blankets. There was one bed in each room…but Bilbo guessed that no one decided to claim them.

He walked away to his linen closet, pulling out every blanket that had been shoved away inside it. He hoped there would be enough. He tip-toed his way around the room, placing blankets over every man. He moved to the room on the right, expecting the same to be seen. He found that Balin had decided to take this bed (he did seem quite a bit older than everyone else, maybe he had back problems) while everyone else-Thorin, Fili, Kili, and Dwalin- laid on the floor. He quickly threw the remaining blankets over them, slowly covering Thorin, then slinking his way out of the room.

Thorin's eyes opened, and he looked down at the blanket. It smelled almost annoyingly of the short man. Even so, he kept it on, snuggling into it, seeing his nephews and large friend had also been wrapped. 'What does he care? And why was he even in here in the first place?' He took a long breath before turning back over, falling into sleep.

-

Bilbo still woke up quite early. He went to the kitchen, remembering their feast from the night before and how it left his fridge and pantry bare. He scratched his head, figuring he would just go out and get donuts or something. He put water into his coffee machine (which he only used for tea) and went out to the living room to wait for the others to wake up.

'Why am I even waiting? I should just go out now before they rise…' He lifted himself up, made his way into his room, and got dressed. He could hear from the adjacent room-the one containing five of the thirteen men- groans and popping joints… He could also just make out the bickering of a couple of young brothers. 'I better get going unless I want thirteen rampant men tearing my home apart!'

-

Dwalin growled as Fili and Kili argued. "Well then, who did put these blankets over us!?" Thorin sighed, deciding to tell them before Dwalin had an aneurism, "I believe Mr. Baggins gave them to us as we were asleep." Fili and Kili turned to him. "How are you so sure? I think it was aliens!" Thorin hung his head trying to comprehend Kili's mind. 'Did Dis just completely give up after Fili?'

A door opened and whistling could be heard. Thorin found it to be Bofur. Eventually, everyone piled out of the rooms and strategically placed themselves in the living room. Some muttered, wondering where their host was, asking if they had saved anything from the night before.

Bilbo reentered his house with several boxes and a bag of cartons. Everyone stared at him as he struggled to make his way to the dining table with everything in one piece. Bofur was the only one to help him, carrying all of the boxes, wondering what was inside. His stomach growled as he tore into them.

"Leave some for the others, or else I'm sure they'd tackle you!" Bofur smiled, "Aye, lad. But you didn't have to do this for us! We should be the one's treating you since we took all your food the other night! And you gave us those blankets!" Bilbo waved him off making a face, "It's nothing. I needed to go to the store anyway…but I guess…I am going to need to buy enough to feed fourteen people for the next week or so…"

Ori wandered in to check on the two. "Donuts? I love donuts!" At the mention of food, eleven men pushed themselves into the dining area to claim theirs. Bilbo informed them he wasn't hungry, so they could take what they wanted. As they finished and brought their plates back, Bilbo cleared and washed them. Kili sheepishly walked up placing his plate on the counter. Bilbo stared at the poor excuse of a donut, as all the icing had been licked off of it, but the rest of it was still intact save for a couple of missing pieces. He gave Kili a look, allowing him to join the others once more.

Bilbo wondered when they would be moving into their new home. And where was all of their stuff? Wait! Gandalf said he would be back first thing in the morning! It's ten o'clock! Where is that bugger?! He joined the rest of the company in the living room where they happily sat chatting away about their plans. "Hey, does anyone know what Gandalf is up to?" Dwalin answered, "Who knows? He's always off doing whatever he pleases!"

Bilbo hummed in agreement. About an hour later, the man in question arrived. "We've been waiting for you…" growled Thorin. Gandalf nodded, walking in and staring around the room. "Now whose turn will it be to start unloading the van? Any volunteers?" When everyone grumbled, he picked out Bifur, Bombur, Oin, and Dori. He made it quite clear that there would be a rotation for unpacking everything. He left with those he picked out, leaving the rest to relax. Nori slid back into their room, leaving Ori to sit with the rest of the group.

Bilbo spoke up, "How much do you guys have to unload?" Bofur turned, "Did he say van? He meant vans. Sure, for thirteen people we don't have very much, but it adds up." Bilbo nodded. "How long do you think this will take?" Bofur looked around the room as if calculating the exact amount of time it would take before saying, "Probably all week, if not next!"

"Right." Bilbo stared at those remaining before asking, "So…who's going with me to the store?" Fili and Kili jumped up, and before poor Bilbo could say no, they were out the door. "They seem very eager," Balin added. Bilbo sighed, grabbing his wallet and heading out the door.

-

It took near two hours, but all the shopping had been done. It took many trips to get all of the bags into the kitchen, and another hour to fit everything they bought into his tiny little kitchen. 'My house was not made for this many people to live in it!' Bilbo thought.

It was Bofur, Balin, Ori, and Dwalin who prepared dinner this night. Those who had unloading duty with Gandalf returned, completely warn out, but with minimal scratches and pains.

Dinner finished as quickly as it had the other night, and it was almost time for bed. Bilbo once again thought of how no one had a spare change of clothes, and the smell of the whole lot reminded him that they probably had not showered in a few days either.

"If you would like, feel free to take a shower. I'll wash your clothes. Um…I may have something for you all to wear in the meantime…" Kili rushed into the front bathroom, "I'm going first!" He shut the door and locked it, only to open it a minute later, tossing his clothes out the door. Bilbo sighed once more, "Alright then." The rest of them (excluding Thorin and Balin) began to strip in the hallway.

"What are you doing!?" Bilbo covered his eyes, blushing fiercely. Dori called, "You said you were going to wash our clothes! No sense in waiting for us to all go through the shower!" Everyone tossed their clothes at the poor man, drowning him in the scent of sweat and….ham…? He made his way to the laundry room, when he pulled a piece of ham from Bombur's pocket. He began to gag as he threw it away, dumping soap over the pile of clothes in the washer and turning it on.

He made sure not to go by the bathroom hallway. He sat himself in his armchair. Balin and Thorin were in a very quiet discussion. Bilbo didn't care. He was worn out from dealing with the brothers for most of the day, along with the many horrid things he had to see.

Thorin stared at him as he nodded off into sleep. He observed his features very carefully, but was pulled from his thoughts by Balin who laughed. He rolled his eyes, leaning back into the couch they sat on. Maybe he would try to talk to him at some point…


	5. Something Strange

Bilbo woke to find he had spent the night on his couch. The sun shined through the blinds, hitting the ground. He tried to recall the night before. The men were taking showers…but he never swapped their clothes into the dryer!

He jumped to the washing room, where of course, he found the clothes becoming sour after sitting overnight. He started over. 'Wait….what are they wearing…?' He peeked into both rooms. It definitely seemed that they were able to find the linen closet, because those who showered wore nothing but towels around their waists.

He silently apologized to them all, leaving to prepare breakfast.

Thorin lay awake on the floor as he listened to Bilbo in the kitchen. 'I should talk to him…this morning…maybe he'll lighten up around me….he seems so tense whenever he looks at me…' He rose, stealthily moving past his nephews and Dwalin, pushing past the door, making his way to the kitchen.

Just as he was about to greet Bilbo with a good morning, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Thorin said instinctively. Bilbo turned, not realizing he had even been up. "Thank you!" Thorin entered it to reveal Gandalf. "Why, good morning, Thorin! Where are the rest of your companions?"

Thorin looked to the ground muttering, "Asleep…" He was quite miffed that he was interrupted before he could even get a word in with Bilbo. He kept the urge to tell the man of his displeasure down, but he did give him a stern look.

Bilbo stepped in, noticing how tense Thorin looked. "Is something wrong?" Gandalf smiled at him, finally walking into the house, shutting the door behind him. "I've come for today's round of men." Bilbo looked surprised. "Can they not eat first? Besides, who are you taking?" The old man peered into the rooms before answering, "I guess…today I will be taking….Bofur, Fili, Kili, Dwalin, and…."

He suddenly noticed the look Thorin was giving him. "And Thorin, of course." The look grew fiercer, and Bilbo could feel the anger radiating from him. "Um…alright." He went back to making breakfast when the dryer signaled that the clothes were dry. "Could either of you give everyone their clothes? I feel so bad for not continuing the wash from last night. They must have gone to bed cold…"

Throin had already walked off, leaving Gandalf to follow. "Now what was that face you were giving me?" Thorin slammed the lid of the dryer angrily, making his rage apparent to him. "I was going to use today to get to know him better. He seems way too…welcoming of us all…I don't particularly like him, but since I have to deal with living here for the next week or two, I'd rather we be on better terms…"

"In which case, today will be good for you. Think about what you're going to say before you say it." Thorin's rage flared once more, harshly whispering, "I don't know him well enough to plan out what to say!" Gandalf hummed to himself. "Then it sounds like you should talk to him…" Thorin grabbed Fili, Kili, and Dwalin's clothes, tossing the rest into the left room. Many woke up and grumbled, but Thorin could care less, slamming the door shut before doing the same to the room on the right.

Gandalf chuckled at his displayed anger. Always one to let it take over….

Thorin came back to Bilbo, refusing to look at him as he set the table. Bilbo was about to turn from the counter to tell him to be gentler with his plates, but remembering how he looked ready to attack Gandalf, he kept quiet.

Twelve complaining, sleepy men finally found their way to the table as Bilbo and Throin set everything out. "Bofur, Fili, Kili, Dwalin, I'm taking you, along with Thorin today. So hurry up and eat! I will not wait for long!" Kili whispered to Fili, "What's he going to do? Leave without us?" The two giggled until they felt the old man's piercing stare on them, to which they slunk back in their seats.

"Are you not going to eat? I'm sure you'll be working hard today." Thorin, who was still upset with having to leave, looked up at Bilbo. He had an almost frightened look on his face. Thorin realized he had not ceased his glare toward Gandalf, choosing now to relax his face. "No, I'll be fine." A million thoughts ran through his mind consisting of, 'Crap! Does he think I hate him? Maybe he's going to try and avoid me now! Why is Gandalf doing this to me!?'

Bilbo thought nearly the same. 'Why is Gandalf putting me through this? I don't think Thorin is very fond of me. And that anger…I don't want to be on his bad side…Is he mad at me?'

Those who were to accompany Gandalf today quickly ate and left. Thorin was in such a huff. Bilbo wondered what went through the captivating man's mind. His face mainly remained expressionless, and his bright blue eyes held something quite bizarre. He could feel how troubled he was, and he wished to confront him about it, but something put him off. Mostly he kept his distance in fear of being tossed across a room, because he had forearms almost the size of his head and was sure he could easily hurl him at a wall.

The house was so quiet without the brothers and Bofur, but he also felt kind of sad at the lack of Thorin's calming presence. For some reason being near him gave Bilbo such chills…but they really calmed his nerves. The man's deep voice was forever playing in his memory. Eventually he dozed off once more, having yet another "uncomfortable" dream of him. He appeared in every dream he's had since they arrived, and Bilbo was starting to question it. No matter how uncomfortable he told himself these dreams were, he couldn't help but think about them in his consciousness.

Thorin yelled at his nephews as they almost dropped a large dresser and mirror. He couldn't take much more of them after that morning. He did try to think about what to say to Bilbo. Any way he looked at it, it was going to start off cruelly awkward. 'Sorry I've been distant, but thanks for letting us stay at your house? That's so blunt…that's also not a great way to start a conversation…Maybe I'll make dinner with him tonight…Yeah…I guess that would be the best…'

Gandalf eyed him suspiciously all day. As Thorin assumed, he was sitting in a lawn chair watching them all work. What was the point of him even being there but to piss him off once more? Gandalf stood, approaching him. 'You going for round two you fuc-'"What is it?" Thorin managed to growl out. The old man looked unimpressed. "Why are you so keen on getting to know him? Sure he's a strange man, but he truly is easy to figure out."

'Is he trying to make me sound like an idiot?' "Am I not allowed to know the man, who's house I've been staying in for the past couple days, personally? You're being very skeptical today, even for you…" Kili wailed. "Uncle! He dropped it on my foot!" "You're the one who let go!" Thorin shot one more look up at Gandalf before tending to his nephews. 'Well Thorin…normally you aren't the one to wish to get to know someone…and the amount of rage you built up toward me getting in the way of that has interested me very much…"

Bilbo awoke with a start as the front door slammed shut. It was a wonder his door was not broken by now. When he saw that it was Thorin, Bofur, Dwalin, and the brothers who returned he instantly jumped to his feet. Dinner wasn't going!

He rushed to get pots and pans out, digging through the fridge and pantry deciding on what they would eat that night. He almost had a heart attack when a hand was laid on his shoulder. His head shot up, hitting the cupboard above. He held his head, taking a step back into someone. He twirled around to come face to face with Thorin. "I'm sorry…I didn't think you would have an episode…" His mind yelled at him about what a poor job he had done of trying to introduce him once more.

"No, no don't worry, I tend to be a bit jumpy. I fell asleep and never started dinner." He slowly wondered if he should ask if the man wanted to help him cook, but he seemed quite eager as he turned on the stove tops placing meats and such in the pots and pans. 'Glad I didn't have to ask.'

The two cooked in silence all the while Thorin kept pushing himself to speak up. But dinner was ready, and everyone piled into the kitchen. 'Later then….'

He lay awake in bed contemplating why it was hard for any words to come out earlier. And why was Gandalf being such a prick? A faint light passed over his face, and he turned to see what it was. He heard a gasp from the doorway. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Thorin smoothly replied, "No, I've been awake."

Suddenly he entered the room, kneeling down next to him. "Is something wrong?" Thorin began to lose it. 'What is he doing…?' "No, nothing at all. Have a good night." With that, he stood and left the room. As the door clicked shut, Thorin let out a sigh. He heard a giggling from right next to him. He gave Kili a glare, and he played possum. 'Whatever…I'll pay it no mind…'

Then it occurred to him….

Does he stare at him every night….?

Thorin slept in the fetal position letting his mind wander to the man who housed them. He had many strange dreams of his own that night.


	6. Poor Boys

Light blue eyes squinted against the sun's rays. They scanned the room around him. The eye's owner thought, 'This isn't my house…' As he shifted his arm from beneath a weight, he realized what had happened the night before.

"Sam, get off of me…." The man next to him grunted, resulting in a tug of his goldish curls and a knee in his gut. Frodo slid one leg out from under the covers of the bed, finding it to be completely bare, giving the man next to him another tug of his hair. He slipped the rest of his body out of the bed having thoroughly abused Sam, strolling over to the dresser opposite the bed, checking his phone for messages. One missed call from Bilbo….and a voicemail…

Frodo snatched his underwear from the floor, lazily pulling them on and leaving the room to listen to the message. He shut the door, rolling his eyes at the sound of his "friend" getting up. The message played, "Hey, I think it would be nice if you were to come over and." A crash was heard, "-meet Gandalf's friends. So…come over whenever."

The message ended, and Frodo contemplated calling back. The bedroom door opened and Sam asked, "What are you doing out here?" Frodo pouted, reentering the room and tossing his phone on the bed as he put on the rest of his clothes. "My uncle wants us to visit today. Do you think we should?" Sam perked. "We haven't gone to visit in quite a while, I think that it would be great. Oh, but doesn't he have company over?"

Frodo's large eyes shifted around. "Yeah, but he wants us to meet them. Friends of Gandalf…that could mean anything…." He looked up at Sam now in defeat, "Well, since they've managed to be kept by Bilbo for more than two days, I guess they can't be that bad. And…I was the one to put this on him…why not check up on him?"

As he let Sam babble about their last visit with Bilbo, Frodo began to wonder about these guests. He could almost hear his uncle's jaw lock up when that crash occurred. He shook his head. "Oh, you don't think so?" Frodo spun around with a worried look, "What? I wasn't paying attention." Sam sighed. "I said, don't you think it's strange of Bilbo to allow people he doesn't know into his house? Remember the first time you brought me over and he kept eyeing my funny…" He began a new tangent, to which Frodo spaced out again. 'And how could he allow them to break stuff? Bilbo would have had Sam's head on a pitchfork. Maybe Gandalf has something to do with it…'

Looking at the clock, it read noon. "Well, now is a better time than any. Still early enough to seem like we've spent the whole day, but late enough to not seem we didn't want to come."

~An hour prior~

By this point, Thorin was about to explode. "Why should he have to unpack our stuff!? He never agreed to take on this duty!" Gandalf strode up to face him, "Would you not like to allow your host to see your new home?" Thorin rubbed his hand against his forehead, "That's completely different. He shouldn't have to work on it!" Gandalf leaned in very closely to whisper in Thorin's ear, "Look at him. Take a GOOD look at him."

Thorin sighed. He always stared at Bilbo. He knows what he looks like by now, from every angle. 'Maybe I should lay off a bit…' "Do you see it?" Thorin rolled his eyes, "See what?" Gandalf smiled at him, "That's the look of a man that doesn't get out very much. I think he needs this. Just for today. He won't have to go out and do this ever again if he doesn't want to." Thorin continued to stare until Bilbo finally turned to them both, to which he instantly turned his head.

Gandalf wandered off down the hall, and Bilbo stood where Gandalf had been in front of Thorin. "Is he talking about me again?" Thorin looked down at him awkwardly, but shook his head. 'Why can't I speak?!' Bilbo nodded and said, "Crazy old man. Thinks I'm some…dependent child. What was he talking about anyway?"

Gandalf called from the kitchen. "I'm sure you'll find out soon," he replied straight faced. Bilbo headed off, leaving Thorin to follow with a slight tremble. 'How will I be able to talk to him if I can't do so without freezing up?'

"Why would I want to do such a thing?" he heard from down the hall. 'I guess I should be in there as well.'

"Do you not want to see your guests' new home?" Thorin walked in to witness the ever confused look on Bilbo's face. "I…I don't see why I-"Gandalf interrupted, "Truly, I'm not giving you a choice. You have to go." Bilbo looked down in defeat.

Everyone eventually piled out of their rooms, gathered around the dining room table, and looked around to see who would make breakfast. Of course it was Bilbo, silently cursing the old man who currently discussed this day's rotation. Bilbo, Nori, Ori, and Gloin. It seemed Balin would just be staying at the house. Even if he was old, he didn't look feeble…

After breakfast, Bilbo went out to the porch to clear his mind. To calm himself, he tried to remember which men he'd be working with. 'Nori was….the one with strangely shaped hair, right….Then…his brother, Ori. He…looked to be the youngest. And Gloin-' "May I sit out here with you?" Bilbo looked up to find Balin. "Oh, of course, please." He slowly lowered himself on the bench and stared at the back of Bilbo's head.

Bilbo could feel his eyes, so he awkwardly tried not to turn around and look at him back. Balin started the conversation, "So if we were to stay for one week more, what would we owe you?" Bilbo turned, completely in shock, "I'm sorry, what?" Balin smiled, "How much do we owe you for our stay here? We must pay you back for such hospitality!" Bilbo looked out to the street. He truly didn't even think about pay. "I don't really need any- wait! Isn't that something you guys should have considered before coming here?" Balin chuckled, "Isn't it something you should have decided before allowing strangers into your home?"

"Money isn't much of an issue for me. And I really only did this because…." He looked down to the railing he leaned on. "My family noticed that I've been quite lonely."

Thorin heard Bilbo's voice from the other side of the door, very quiet and calm. The front door was slightly ajar, so he leaned in close to it and listened. Balin pressed, "And why is that, lad?" Hoping to lighten the mood, he added, "Especially if money is no issue…" Thorin would have covered his old friend's mouth for saying such a thing, but he did not want to interrupt. Bilbo sighed, "I don't know. I don't care to get to know other people I suppose. I don't find myself needing company, but…I guess I don't like to be alone either…"

"Time to leave!" Gandalf called throughout the house. 'No, I want to listen….' Thorin straightened up, swiftly rushing past Gandalf, who gave him an odd look. He stepped out from the front door to see Bilbo looking morose, his head down and fingers nervously moving around. His head rushed up as he heard the slaps of the old man's sandals on the ground and he met Gandalf's caring blue eyes.

He gave a small smile, turning to Balin. "Maybe we'll talk about this later, then?" Balin rose, turned to Gandalf and said, "Oh, I think I'll come along for this and see how horribly the others have wrecked our new home so far." Bilbo was surprised, but nodded and followed Gandalf down to his car. It looked a bit crap, but what do looks matter? It ran.

As everyone piled in the car and drove away, Thorin couldn't help but be a bit sad. 'Why do you hate me, Gandalf…?' He shut the front door and turned to everyone in the living room. Fili was on his laptop with his brother's head resting on his shoulder. The rest either stared blankly at the television or slept on the comfortable furniture. 'What will I do today, then?'

The doorbell rang. Thorin immediately ran up to it, peering out the peep hole.

All he could see was a sandy haired man staring away from the door and down the path. He waved his arms, and soon there was a boy with dark brown curls at his side. Thorin wondered if he should open the door, then his older nephew looked to him asking, "Are you going to open the door?"

He swung it open, and the first man's eyes gave a twitch of fear. The other however just looked up in surprise, his hauntingly pale blue eyes widening and pupils dilating.

When his nephews pushed past him to let the men in, he knew that they should fear for their well-being.


	7. Way To Go

Fili, Kili, and Bofur kept the young men alert. However, Thorin's mind was cluttered with thoughts of what their host had said to Balin before they left. He wondered why he was alone, why he allowed a bunch of strangers into his home, why he never expected pay, why he would tell Balin all of this…Why would he be the one that the short man went to first... 'I may not be the most approachable, but…I really wish to know more about that man…'

The darker haired boy scurried around the house, quite panicked, as if he were searching for someone. "Where is Bilbo?" His friend who stared in fright at the remaining guests kept as close as he possibly could to him. Thorin's hearing piqued at the sound of the peculiar man's name. "Bilbo…is not currently here…" He was glad to hear his normal, monotonous voice once more. Talking to Bilbo led him to believe he was on the track of losing his voice or becoming ill. Thorin was never prone to stuttering, and he could not recall a time beforehand where he had stuttered before meeting Bilbo.

Despair was eminent on the younger looking boy's face. His eyes scrunched tight and he pouted, showing his discontent. "Why would he invite us over when he wasn't going to be here?" His chubby friend gulped, obviously hiding his urge to bolt from the house. "It was a bit of a short notice that he would be leaving." Thorin hated having to be the one to inform these boys, but without Balin, no one else would without causing the two to go through some awful bit of trauma. Speaking of which, Fili and Kili stepped up to them, large grins disfiguring their faces and hands behind their backs in cruel plotting.

"If you'd like, we will keep you company until he returns!" Kili grabbed the stingy blue eyed boy and Fili grabbed the fat one. Thorin did not reach out to stop them realizing that he did not want to hear their whining, or have the two in his presence. The boys were dragged off into the room on the right, raising suspicion from Dwalin, but he settled, deciding that he did not care if the boys went through his weapons and slaughtered themselves or each other.

Thorin was about to settle until he heard a scream from the room, "My uncle will not be happy to hear of this!" He mentally weighed the pros and cons of stepping in. On one hand, Bilbo may thank him for stopping his nephews, but on the other hand…he didn't feel like it. 'Wait…uncle?'

Thorin stood up, walked past the raving Oin, and made his way to the room. He jiggled the handle. Locked. "Who is it~!" Thorin would not have any of this. "You will open the door right now!" The door flung open, hitting him hard in the face. He heard Fili gasp and someone else back quickly away from the door. It only hit his forehead, hardly something to worry about, so he rushed into the room seeing the mischievous looks on the brothers' faces. He looked just behind the door to find the two young boys bound and gagged. "You've got to be kidding me! Leave now!" Fili and Kili sighed, reluctantly leaving the room to join everyone else. Thorin cursed his nephews under his breath as he untied the poor lads. "That will teach you to listen to those two," he hissed at them.

As they were free, the large one almost ran for it, before his friend grabbed him. "What's going on here? Why are there so many people in here? I doubt Uncle Bilbo knows less than half of you lot!"

Thorin let out a bit of an angry growl, causing them both to jump. He sighed, beginning to tell the two why they were there.

Gandalf and Balin sat on the porch in lawn chairs as Bilbo, Nori, Ori, and Gloin were put to work. Every time Bilbo walked by, he would try to hear what they were saying. Eventually he began to notice the smirks they gave him, which made him exceedingly uncomfortable. He was about to confront them himself until he was called over by them. He wiped the sweat from his brow, trudging over with a feeling of dread. "What is it?"

Balin stood from his chair, allowing Bilbo a spot to sit down as he leaned against the fence in front of him. Bilbo slowly lowered himself, feeling quite awkward between the two old men. "What did you call me over for?" Gandalf took out his pipe, throwing something inside and lighting it. Balin took this as a sign for him to start. "Gandalf here was just telling me about how much of a loner you were." Bilbo gave the tall man a glare to which he chuckled, blowing out some smoke. "And so what if I am? What does that matter? I like my simple, single life! I don't need you setting me up!"

"Look at you Mr. Baggins, blowing things out of proportions! We haven't said a word of your lack of a romantic relationship! Now let us speak." Gandalf turned back to Balin, urging him to continue. "Truthfully, we were discussing how much room is in this house here, and we may have to shove too many people in each room if we tried to fit everyone." Bilbo's eyes narrowed. "So you're saying that you want me to keep some of these guys at my house?" Balin shifted nervously. "We were hoping…no more than one…maybe two…"

Bilbo sighed, exasperated, and stood to continue unpacking the moving van. "He'll wise up to it, he will." Gandalf shoved his pipe back into his mouth, reclining back into his chair.

Nori and Ori whispered back and forth to each other until Gloin shoved them. "Will you two shut up and help Mr. Baggins!" They turned to see him on the edge of spilling the contents of a particularly large box. He would have dropped it if it weren't for the brothers coming out to assist him. "Ori, I think they've got it. You keep helping me out here." Bilbo watched Ori skip back to the van and then looked to the sullen face of Nori. He never looked very happy, but since he finally had a good look of him, he could see both sadness and annoyance. "This is Oin's. We have to take this one upstairs." Bilbo paled, then cleared his throat, "Right, let's go then."

Bilbo struggled, being the one to carry most of the weight up the stairs, almost falling a few times. "You better not drop this, or Oin will stuff you in one of his coffins." Bilbo choked. "Is that what's in here!?" Nori shook his head. He was relieved, assuming it was meant as a joke, but he was unable to catch on because he was such a serious man. "We already took those in." Bilbo squeaked.

As they finally set the box down in a room, Bilbo began to feel very awkward being alone with Nori. He looked down into the box, seeing something that resembled a head. His breath caught in his throat, he jumped back into a coffin. His and Nori's eyes met and he blanched further. Nori stuck his hand in the box, pulling out a staff with a head attached to it. "Oin is in to witch doctor-y stuff. I suggest you stay away from his stuff if you plan on being so jumpy around it. I wasn't kidding about the coffin thing."

Silence took over the room again, and Bilbo nervously tried to start a conversation, "None of this makes you the slightest bit uncomfortable?" Nori's half lidded eyes looked right through him, making him shiver. "No, why would it. I've spent just about my entire life with all of these guys. Nothing creeps me out anymore. Maybe you'll be sorted out after this as well…" Bilbo definitely didn't like his choice of words.

"Right." He should have just kept it at that. When he looked back at it, he really should have just left and continued unpacking. But no, he had to press further. "It doesn't seem like you get along with them like the rest do." If he had known what this statement would cause him, he would have slapped himself. Nori's eyes widened a considerable amount. This is when Bilbo's regret first set in. "What do you mean?" he asked with a morose tone. His voice was softer now. Bilbo fidgeted, "It's just…you aren't as rowdy as t others seem to be. And I notice the looks you give to Ori and Dori."

Nori frowned. "Dori treats Ori and I like children. I'm so sick of him. I may have turned out more like the rest if it wasn't for him. If I were to say anything out of line he would scold me. I'm trying to convince Ori not to listen to him and rebel with me. He's been made soft by him. I know he does this because he cares for us, but it's too much. Sometimes I wish he would just die!" The whole house was silent now. Bilbo was taken aback and didn't know how to continue. "Uhm, look…I'll…see what I can do…"

Gloin's heavy steps could be heard from downstairs. "Come on! We have to get all of this crap in here!" Nori gave Bilbo a hopeful look, walking past him he whispered, "Don't get my hopes up." Bilbo gulped. How could he let him down now? He's gotten himself involved in something he never thought he would. These men…

Slow steps came up the staircase. Bilbo's head rose to see Gandalf. "It's about time to go Mr. Baggins." He nodded, following him back down. 'Bilbo, you're such an idiot! Why throw yourself into the affairs of thirteen men whom you barely know? You're going to pay for this later on.'


	8. Faster Than Expected

As soon as the front door swung open, Frodo’s eyes widened and he leapt up to greet his uncle. But instead, he ran into the torso of a large man with red hair and mad eyes. His heart’s pace sped up until he eventually fainted. “Excitable fellow…” In came Gandalf, Balin, Ori, and Nori. They stared at the small man on the ground. Bilbo finally made his way in, shutting the door behind him. “Bilbo!” a familiar voice shouted. He turned to find Sam surrounded by the men on the sofa, “What’s going on?” He looked down to find his nephew on the floor.

He panicked, to say the least. “What have you done to my poor nephew!? Are you sacrificing him or something!?” Realization hit him. ‘Damn, I invited him over! I can’t believe I forgot! The poor boy must have been put through hell!’

“What did you do to him?” Gloin stepped up, “He looked more than fine until he ran into me. I must’ve given him quite a shock.” The rest of the company nodded. Bilbo bent down and lifted the poor boy to the nearest armchair, then left to start making tea. Thorin watched every step he took down the hall until he disappeared into the kitchen. Now he could finally confront Balin.

Balin flashed a smile as Thorin came up to him which deepened as he saw him fuming. “Yes? What is it?” Thorin took a deep breath, “I just want to speak to you.” Balin nodded, following the much taller man down the hall, quirking an eyebrow as he slowed down past the entry to the kitchen. They continued into their room, shutting the door, raising suspicion among the men in the living room.

“You two stayed out of trouble, I hope!” Nori rolled his eyes at his brothers. Ori animatedly described everything he moved into the house while Dori forced himself to look interested. Fili and Kili were sat on the loveseat with a laptop lying between them. They giggled at whatever it was they were looking at, causing others to crowd around them.

Sam was glued to the arm of the armchair Frodo was passed out in, feeling Oin and Gloin’s stares on him. For a good ten minutes he wondered if he should just toss his friend over his shoulder and make a run for it, but he somehow doubted that would be a good idea.

Bilbo poked his head out from the kitchen. “Is anyone going to help me out with dinner tonight?” Half the room shuffled toward Bilbo, leaving Fili, Kili, Bofur, Frodo, and Sam. Even if the room was severely less crowded than it previously was, Sam felt even more uncomfortable, so he sat on the ground next to the chair as to not raise much attention to himself.

Kili cut the silence, “What do you think uncle is talking about?” Fili replied flatly, “Probably just the paperwork and stuff. He’s always worrying about the work. At least that means we don’t have to.” Kili snorted. “Like he would leave it to any of us. And he didn’t seem worried. He looked uncomfortable. Whatever they’re discussing, it must have taken him some courage to get it out.”

Bofur hummed, tugging at his long hair as he listened to the brothers talk back and forth. Sam stared as he began to braid it, but backed away when the man’s eyes snapped toward him. He decided to be entertained by the young bickering boys.

“You can’t possibly be suggesting Thorin Oakenshield was fumbling like a teenage girl, and that I missed it. At least we have those cameras around! We’ll check them out later.” Bofur burst out laughing, rolling on the couch, almost in tears. “You’ve done what now, lads?” Kili gave a smug grin and Fili resumed watching the screen of his laptop. This had Sam’s attention. ‘They’ve done what? Wait, what?’ He looked around the room in search of any obvious cameras, of course, to find none. ‘Maybe they’re just jok- who am I kidding, they probably aren’t!’

~

The door shut closed and Thorin immediately went to sit on the bed to calm his nerves. His head was in his hands, but he knew Balin had sat beside him when he felt the bed dip to hi right. “What is it you’ve needed to tell me lad?” Thorin rubbed at his temples, preparing himself. “I overheard you speaking with Bilbo earlier today. What was all that about?”

Balin smiled with a hint of suspicion. “What, I was just sitting outside with him before we had to leave. Did I say something out of line?” Balin loved Thorin more than anyone could, so he knew he was either getting scolded or he needed help with something. For once, he felt it was the latter. He could see it on his face when he pursed his lips and scrunched his eyes tightly. “We were simply discussing what we owe him.”

Balin could see the struggle Thorin was having with himself. His brows furrowed and he almost looked annoyed. If he kept this up, Balin was sure he would soon turn different colors. “So that’s not what you mean to talk about.” Thorin let out a breath he had been holding for far too long, “No. Something….else…”

“I’m not a mind reader, laddie. Just come out with it, when you’re ready of course.” Every nervous habit he had begun to slip out of him at once. His foot tapped, his hand was running through his hair, he bit his lip, and it became all the more painful for Balin to sit there and watch his friend crumble. Something must really be troubling him.

Thorin spat out breathlessly, “He said….” Balin leaned in closer to rest his arm over Thorin’s shoulders. “Yes, he said what, lad?” He heard slight murmurs from Thorin.  
Thorin cursed himself under his breath. ‘Why can’t I get this out? Damnit, he’s waiting! Come on Thorin, you’re being ridiculous!’ “He said he was lonely.”

There was a thick silence which put Thorin’s nerves even more on edge. He couldn’t even think of anything else to say. What he managed to get out wasn’t exactly a question, and Balin didn’t know how to respond. Suddenly there was the crashing of pots and a short yelp, most likely belonging to Bilbo. Thorin jumped up and ran to the door until he heard Bilbo’s voice yell, “Everything’s fine, don’t worry!”

Balin could see it now. Thorin cared a lot for their host, but how would he continue…

~

Frodo jumped awake. He was on his feet in seconds. “Sam? Sam! Where are you!?” Sam crawled out from behind the chair and immediately had his head rammed by his friend’s knee. He fell to the floor and Fili, Kili, and Bofur laughed at him. This startled Frodo, “Where is everyone? Where’s my uncle!?”

Bilbo stepped out of the kitchen hearing his nephew’s voice. “Frodo, you’re awake! Will you be staying for dinner?” Frodo stared at him, but was frightened by the eight men who poked their heads out from behind him. Then Thorin and Balin stepped out from the back room down the hall, and Frodo lost it, especially at Thorin’s annoyed expression. “No, no, I don’t think we will. Sam! Get up!” Sam groaned, finally getting to his feet.

“What’s going on?” Thorin asked as the two boys ran from the house. Bilbo answered, “I only asked if they wanted to stay for dinner. What did you guys do to them anyway? Whatever, that Gamgee kid deserved whatever it was.” Thorin wanted to know more about him, so he enquired, “Why would he deserve to be tied up by Fili and Kili?”

Bilbo turned around, completely surprised. “Tied up? My gosh, why would they do such a thing? But that Gamgee…I had the two boys over one day long ago. I had them in the separate rooms, but they woke me up one night, and I knew they moved to the same bed. My poor sweet Frodo, corrupted by some fat boy.” Balin didn’t want to question which bedroom they moved to, but Bilbo answered anyway. “I never could remove the stain from the right room’s sheets.”

Balin turned away with his fears being true, which Throin found greatly amusing. The men who had previously helped in the kitchen resigned to the living room. Bilbo returned to dinner, and Thorin followed, seeing this as his opportunity to talk to him more. “I haven’t a clue what my nephews were going to do to those two. And maybe you shouldn’t have said that about the sheets. I’m sure old Balin will be sleeping on the floor tonight.”

Bilbo giggled, which strengthened Thorin’s confidence. “Sometimes I don’t know when to shut my mouth. Like what I’m about to say next! Do you think that your nephews would have sexually harassed them?” Thorin stared out the window. “Most likely. That sounds like something they would do.”

Bilbo bobbed his head and shuffled a bit on his feet. “I can tell. Are they together? They have the same look in their eyes as my nephew and that wanker have.” Thorin cleared his throat. “Yes, they are. Does that bother you?” He may not be extremely close with his nephews, but he wasn’t going to let some prat he barely knew talk awfully of them. “No, not at all. I’ve had to deal with Sam and Frodo long enough, I don’t think anything could bother or even disturb me anymore,” he concluded with another laugh.

Thorin looked to the floor now. He didn’t know how to feel talking about this sort of thing with him. It seemed they came to this topic very quickly. “Can you set the table, please?” Thorin stood to get out plates and silverware. “Does it bother you?” Thorin raised his brows and scoffed. “Not at all. They can do whatever the hell they want. As long as I don’t have to be in the middle of it.”

Bilbo moved the food from the pots and pans into serving dishes, moving them to the table that was beautifully set by Thorin. Thorin turned to find Bilbo staring straight at him and felt nervous. “So…are you going to go out there and get everyone, or will you just stare at me?” Thorin quickly moved out into the hall and brought everyone in.

He’d definitely have to get the rest from Balin tomorrow.


	9. Overthinking Maybe?

Bilbo paced his room as he thought about what happened before dinner. He felt that he could burst into hysterical laughter at any moment. What brought on such confidence as to speak to Thorin? He was terrible at speaking, and he knew that. How he managed to not come off like a stuttering idiot, he would never know. His hands rushed to his hair, tugging slightly. His face began to burn at the topic they chose. Could they have talked about anything different?

He heard the voices of the many men gathered down the hall. Sighing, he decided he should go outside. This thought grew as he heard Fili and Kili laugh. He had known them for, what half a week? And he already knew that those laughs meant trouble.

When he stepped out, some of the men glanced at him, returning to either watching television or talking about whatever. Fili and Kili sat on the sofa with Ori sitting between them. Fili’s laptop sat on Ori’s lap as the brothers pointed at the screen and grinned mischievously. Dori eyed them suspiciously while Nori looked quite irritated. Knowing the conflict between them made it clearer to Bilbo.

Thorin stared at him from his peripheral vision, trying not to make it obvious. When Ori released a gasp causing the brothers on either side to break down, his eyes narrowed on them. Ori tossed the laptop off of him, his face was completely flushed, and he excused himself to his room.

Ori nodded to Bilbo as he carefully stepped around him. Of course Bilbo was concerned, but not enough to dig him into more problems than he already had.

Fili and Kili high fived, but appeared to be as disappointed as wet kittens when their uncle stalked up behind them. Bilbo could have hit himself for the giggle that escaped his mouth at the sight. Thorin shyly looked in Bilbo’s direction before going back to disciplining his nephews.

“I think you two should be the ones to do the dishes tonight. Don’t you agree Mr. Baggins?” He smiled in response. “Sorry boys, but I think that’s fair considering what you did to my nephew and his…friend.”

The two sulked out of the room, leaving the room filled with all of the older men. It was surprising, but it seemed there was even more chaos with them gone. Maybe they all joked about the brothers on dish duty, but more likely they got to topics they wouldn’t cross with them in the room.

Bilbo didn’t feel particularly welcome (in his own bloody living room!), but when Bofur grabbed his arm and forced him to sit down he felt less tense. “I hope we haven’t been too much trouble for ya Mr. Baggins!” The man’s smile was face-distorting, making it seem all the more genuine. Bilbo scoffed, “You’ve been just fine for thirteen men. And please, call me Bilbo.”

Thorin took the place of his nephews, which just happened to be next to Balin. He nudged his shoulder, leg, head, but finally stopped when a loud snore erupted from him. ‘Later, then…’

When the next sound to disturb everyone came from the kitchen, Thorin groaned. He stared as Bilbo rushed to see what the brothers were doing. “You let go of him this instant!”

Thorin’s foul mood only became worse. What could they possibly be doing now? Wait, they weren’t….Bilbo didn’t walk in on them-…

“It was funny!” Fili called from the kitchen. Kili stepped out into the hall, his hair was damp and covered in bubbles, and he fled to the bathroom to lock himself inside. “You go and apologize to your brother right now!” Thorin smiled, as it seemed his host had everything under control, even if he did sound like their mother, which really just made his smile even deeper.

Fili tugged on the doorknob and banged on the door. “Let me in!” Only a few more pounds of his fist against the door and he was pulled inside. The door locked. Thorin put his face into his hands, as he knew they wouldn’t be seeing them for an hour or two.

At the sound of dishes clattering and water running, Thorin jumped up from his seat and wandered into the hall. Of course, Bilbo was doing the dishes all alone. He felt even worse as he gazed at the ten stacks of plates and pots that should have been soaking hours ago. It really was too late at night to be doing dishes.

Bilbo hummed softly as he bounced on the heels of his feet. Thorin wondered why he did that, but then he realized how long he had just been standing there staring. He coughed to get the short man’s attention. His curls bounced across his cheeks as he faced him. He gave a warm, nervous smile. “Yes?”

Thorin was a bit stunned, but straightened quickly. “I’m sorry about my nephews…--again--…I could help you with that,” he said pointing awkwardly at the sink. He was extremely nervous, and every gesture he made left him feeling like an idiot. Nonetheless, Bilbo flashed another smile and moved over a step to allow Thorin by his side.

After ten minutes of Bilbo cleaning and Thorin drying while desperately trying to map out where everything belonged, they traded roles. As he got down to washing Bifur’s plate—no doubt it was Bifur’s—he grimaced at the mess and scrubbed furiously. Bilbo stared at him worriedly. “I can’t think of anything we had that would stick to a plate like that,” he commented. “I wouldn’t think too hard about it,” Thorin said flatly. He turned his head to see Bilbo staring off into space with a more concerned look on his face. “I, uh, wasn’t implying anything by that.”

Bilbo gave a small chuckle and went back to arranging the silverware.  
Thorin couldn’t stop watching him. It seemed as though he was worried by something other than his plates. He was distant as he hummed to himself. ‘I shouldn’t dig into it…Maybe Balin will talk to him about it.’

Footsteps continuously sounded through the halls. Thorin finished scrubbing and rinsing, leaving Bilbo to dry a large pile and put them in their places. Thorin peered out into the living room to see that everyone went to bed. He grabbed another towel, assisting with drying every cup and plate. Eventually, there was one cup left. Thorin looked up to Bilbo’s face as he snatched it from the counter, raising an eyebrow out Thorin’s surprised face. “Have your nephews come out of the bathroom yet? It’s awfully late…”

Thorin shrugged, “It doesn’t matter. They’re better off in there than near anything else.” Thorin wasn’t surprised to see another smile on his face. Did everything he say really deserve that reaction out of the smaller man?

Bilbo stepped out into the hall, Thorin following closely behind him. Thorin almost ran into him when he came to an abrupt stop in front of the door directly across from the kitchen. It must have been his room, then. Thorin continued down the hall to his door. He took one last glance at his host, who was staring at him with an awkward smile. “Thanks for helping me.” Thorin felt his heart in his throat, and he choked on his tongue, “You’re welcome!” He said this slightly louder than he intended, then quickly rushed into his room.

Bilbo listened to the soft click of the room’s door shut, turning his gaze down to the floor. His hand shook on the doorknob. His mind shouted at him, ‘Why would you stare at him like that!? He must be extremely uncomfortable now! He certainly looked it!’

His thoughts were interrupted by the bathroom door swinging open forcefully. Fili and Kili stepped out, arms around each other’s waists, shoving themselves into their room. Bilbo was thankful they had not seen him standing in front of his door like an idiot. He stepped inside, turning on his light.

His first instinct was to grab his phone and check it. There was a single message from Frodo.

I’m not coming over ever again unless I have Merry and Pippin with me.

Just what he needed. More trouble. He was sure Meriadoc and Peregrin would get along quite well with Fili and Kili, and the thought sent shivers down his spine.

He looked to the many papers littering his desk. He sat in his office chair, swaying in it, spinning, leaning back, all while staring at his latest writing project. He quickly stood, shutting of his light and crawling into bed.

The thought of how Thorin looked at him came to mind. It brought a dull ache to his stomach. ‘This is why you’re alone, Bilbo. You scare people away.’

\--

Thorin tried to keep from grumbling when his nephews blindly stepped on his long hair. They dropped to the ground from where they stood, still holding each other, and immediately fell asleep. He looked over to poor Balin, who moved himself to the floor.

It was hard for him to fall asleep. Bilbo’s frequent smiling kept coming to mind. He was rapidly becoming more self-conscious. He never saw him smile so vigorously for anyone else in his company. He rubbed at his temples. He finally noticed his breathing had sped up when his heart felt like it was ready to burst.

He sighed to himself. ‘I’ll volunteer to unpack tomorrow. I need something to get my mind off of everything.

The next morning there was no sign of Gandalf. It was already ten, and he had not arrived. Thorin fidgeted in his seat. His eyes darted across the small house every time a door opened or closed. It was beginning to drive him nuts.

Bilbo stepped out of his room, and Thorin set his eyes to his thumbs twiddling the fabric of his shirt. “Gandalf isn’t coming over today! He just rang me, and he said he’s giving you lot a break!”

Thorin could have cried. The one day he wanted to get out of the house, and he was stuck there. Hopelessly stuck.

The reaction from the rest of the group was a positive one. There were cheers and groans of relief. Thorin grew overly suspicious of what it was Gandalf was trying to pull. He just seemed to want the complete opposite of what Thorin wanted. Was it just to spite him?

“Are you alright?” His voice made Thorin jump, and his grimace turned to a look of shock. He nodded at Bilbo, who slowly ventured back down the hall. He slumped lower into the couch. What an idiot he was…

As soon as Fili and Kili were in the kitchen, Thorin could hear the tossing of dishes he had just cleaned the night before. It only took one smash to ruin his composure even further. His hands returned to his head. What did he do to deserve such hateful cruelty?


	10. Overstaying Our Welcome

For once, breakfast wasn’t prepared. Everyone just came in, got food, then left. Bilbo set the rule that whatever dish they dirtied, they had to clean it afterwards. Surprisingly, everyone decided to adhere to that rule, which made Bilbo a very happy little man

Thorin tried to keep his distance from Bilbo. Every time he came in the room he could feel his presence. What had him so bothered, he would never know. Once, he saw the man walk around with a glass in hand—dark red liquid that he occasionally sipped on. He noticed his nephews catch on to what he had, feeling the pit of his stomach begin to ache.

But nothing motivated him to stop their plotting. He was too lost in his mind. He was anxious, but he didn’t know why. He ruled out that he was just becoming ill, even if he was with this lot.

It was almost noon when the doorbell rang. Bilbo jumped up, swiftly shuffling through the men moving around the small room. Thorin stared as Gandalf came in. He glared at him, wishing for him to catch on fire.

He stepped in, carrying something large, but whatever it was, it was obscured by his large coat. “Gandalf, why have you brought a guitar?” Thorin shot straight up in his seat. Did he really bring his-?

“This belongs to Thorin,” he said with a glance in his direction. “Oh,” the short man also turned to look at Thorin, his eyes displaying a hint of shock.

Thorin could only stare at Bilbo and nod, possibly making the most idiotic face he could muster. Everything he did in front of Bilbo angered him to no end. He wasn’t meant to ever act like this, he was in charge of twelve men, most over his age, and therefore he should not act like he has a crush on their host.

While Bilbo was distracted by Gandalf, Fili and Kili whispered harshly to Bofur. Bilbo turned in time to see Bofur rush into his kitchen, but thought nothing of it as Bofur was one of the more respectable people among the group.

He guided the old man inside, taking his coat to hang in the nearby closet. Gandalf leaned the instrument against the couch Thorin was paralyzed in and gave him a wink. Thorin gripped the arm of the chair, trying not to let his anger take over and beat the man senseless with his guitar.

“I guess I didn’t exactly explain why I brought that over.” Bilbo gave him his full attention, toes curling into the carpet. “You have some very strange neighbors. I found one of them ‘taking samples’ from your guitar there. I can only assume that was his excuse for trying to steal it.” Thorin nodded, not really appreciating his gesture, nor wanting to think of neighbors at this point.

Bofur came out from the kitchen empty handed, making Thorin more than a little nervous as he sat back down with his nephews. ‘I have an awful feeling we’re going to be kicked out by the end of the day.’

“Did you not have the house locked up!?” Bilbo’s outburst turned Thorin’s head around again. “Of course I did! The damn bloke somehow made it through a window!” Thorin watched the flabbergasted expressions cross Bilbo’s face as he tried to think of a response. It was quite hard to keep from laughing at the small man’s fuming. “Did you call the cops on him? You should do something about that!” Gandalf smiled down at him, “I don’t think that will be necessary when he catches sight of these men.”

‘Which may be sooner than expected,’ Thorin thought as he turned to find Bofur and his nephews gone. Dread washed over him. Everyone else spoke in hushed tones, which only strengthened the idea that something bad would come soon.

“Anyway, I need to take a seat. I had to walk over here.” Bilbo scrambled to usher him into the dining room to, no doubt, make him tea. Thorin took this chance to put his guitar under the bed in his room so no one would find it and break it. Before he set it down, he looked over it. It had been a while since he’d been able to relax and play anything. But then again, his life was so chaotic, why would he even bother with a hobby.

He immerged from the room looking a bit more sour than usual. Ori was the one to greet him as soon as the door shut behind him. He looked very worried. However normal it was to see Ori flustered, at this point, it was just another bad omen. “Uh, Fili and Kili…they, uh…” A door swung open. “I’m done with you lot!” The front door shut, rattling the house’s walls. Definitely not good.

Then came the frantic cries from Bilbo. The sound of eleven large men crammed into one small space with a short man sounded throughout the house. Suddenly, two people squeezed their way out. It was Nori, who seemed rather upset, and Bilbo, who looked as if he’d been yelling over eleven large men.

Ori went to his brother’s side, trying to calm him down. Bilbo messed with his hair, tugging on it, obviously trying to deter an oncoming headache. ‘As soon as the party calms down, there’s no way he won’t throw us out.’

“Could you please do something about this!?” Bilbo’s wide, angry blue eyes glared at Thorin. Panic washed over him, and he felt his heart sink to his stomach. He managed to ask, with more edge to his voice than intended, “What have they done…?”

“You’re bloody nephews have broken into my wine cooler! Everyone is helping themselves in there, and I don’t quite appreciate it!” Thorin knew that if they had all been in on this, there was no way he could stop them. If they all had the courage to defy him, then why would they listen to him, especially if they were piss drunk.

Thorin shook his head. “No, I don’t think I could. Coming between those men and liquor is a horrible idea…” Bilbo huffed. “I’ll say. One of them almost knocked my head around until my chin met my back!” Taking a closer look, Thorin noticed the right side of his face was beginning to form a large bruise. It made him angry to think that anyone would do this to him, especially with how much he has already put up with.

He growled out, “Our best option would be to wait until they’re all passed out. And I recommend locking the doors.” Bilbo nodded. Nori and Ori walked down the hall to their room, Nori raving about how much of a hypocrite Dori was, and other such ramblings. As soon as the door locked, Thorin laid his eyes back on Bilbo, who brushed past him, entering his own room and locking it.

“Right…” he made his way to his room. He only just noticed how large the room was without Balin, Dwalin, Fili, or Kili in it with him. Also, how very plain it was. He realized he shouldn’t have been the least bit hurt by Bilbo’s action, but since he couldn’t do anything to resolve the matter, he felt quite useless to him.

He pulled his guitar out from under the bed and strummed the strings. It was surprisingly in tune. Fili and Kili normally would have messed it up just to piss him off. He was thankful as he began to play the few short songs he could remember to play. The sound of each string resonated through the room, and somehow helped to calm him.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve had time for myself. Maybe this is a good thing…’

 

\--

 

Bilbo pulled out his chair, sitting at his desk. He pulled out a piece of paper and began to write furiously. He barely knew what he was writing. Whatever thought came to his head, he wrote it down and explained it in every detail he could. His pen tapped against the wooden desk as he racked his brain for more to write.

He took the paper and crumpled it up. ‘Why do I even bother writing?’ He threw it in the nearby trash can and stomped around his room. ‘These people are just taking advantage of me, aren’t they?’ Why do I bother caring for others!? I’m only ever used until I’m no longer needed! This is why I’ve holed myself away! How ridiculously untrustworthy others are!’

He sat down on his bed, head in his hands. He rubbed at his temples trying to settle himself. ‘Thorin hadn’t even tried to get those rowdy men to stop! Does he not care either?’ His eyes shut tightly, trying not to let that last thought bother him. He suddenly felt very achy and he leaned back onto his bed.

The soft hum of music could be heard through the wall opposite his bed. He sat up, straining his ears to listen to it. He couldn’t quite place any of the songs, and they all sounded rather sad. Every half a minute, the song switched to something else. ‘Thorin must be playing.’

He rubbed his right cheek as he felt his anger dissipate. Not even the crashes coming from the other end of the house broke his attention to the soft music. He felt the urge to get up and join Thorin in his room. Bilbo remembered he had been angry at him moments ago, but he couldn’t remember the reason.

Bilbo stood up and paced his room once more. He turned out the light that sat beside his door. He wished to see him, but reasoned that it would not be a good choice. The music eventually became distorted. A few more plucks of the strings, trying to get the correct sound. Then, it ended. 

Bilbo’s hand lingered on the doorknob. ‘I don’t even know the man. Why would I want to see him so badly?’

He lay back down on his bed, his face void of all expression. He imagined the melodies he had just been listening to. They threatened to put him to sleep.

 

\--

 

The guitar was slid back under the bed. Thorin sat upright as he listened to his friends yelling from around the small house. ‘We’ve definitely overstayed our welcome.’

A soft knocking came from the door. ‘It’s just one of those idiots wishing to come in. They deserve to sleep on the lawn.’

“Thorin…” his name was softly called. ‘Maybe it’s just Ori…’

But when he unlocked and opened the door, he was not unpleasantly surprised to see Bilbo. His head was downturned and he would not look into his eyes. “May I come in?” Thorin stepped out of the way to let him in. He looked around at the blankets littering the floor. Thorin became self-conscious about the messiness of the room.

“Is it alright if I sleep here tonight?” The question left Thorin completely baffled, but he nodded. He lay down in Dwalin’s bundle and stared at the wall across from him. Thorin felt extremely uncomfortable, but then Bilbo noticed his staring, making his predicament worse. He sat down in his blankets, eyes on his guitar.

“I heard you playing.” Thorin gave no reaction. “It was nice.”

Thorin gave in, needing to see Bilbo’s face. When he looked at him, their eyes instantly met. A weary smile spread across Bilbo’s face as his curls fell over his cheeks and eyes, such a radiant blue protruding from messy auburn hair.

Thorin unconsciously smiled back. He reached for his guitar, settling it in his lap. He began to play once more.

Bilbo’s breathing evenly slowed down. His breaths came out in short sighs. Thorin put the instrument back, standing to turn out the light. Moonlight from the window crossed Bilbo’s face, making every little detail perfectly viewable to Thorin. He stared and stared until he fell asleep.

“Good night, Bilbo.”  
-  
-  
-  
“Good night, Thorin.”


	11. Is This Anyway To Pay Me Back?

Bilbo stirred from underneath his blankets. His foot hit something hard, and he wasn't all that surprised to find it was Thorin's ankle. He stared at his muscled back, his long ebony hair splayed across his pillow. It was almost disheartening to Bilbo that he had his back toward him, but he couldn't quite place why.

As the events from last night flooded back to his mind, he immediately sat up straight. He almost had the urge to strangle the large man beside him, but the doorbell rang, causing him to panic. 

'Who could possibly be here today?' he asked himself. He hurried to his feet, unlocking the door, stepping down the hall over countless shattered glasses and unconscious bodies, until he reached his front door.

'Wait, I must look a mess!' He began to fuss over his hair until he took a good look around his house. Fili and Kili were passed out, half naked, with a potted plant between them. Whatever condition he appeared to be in was no where near comparable to any of the inhabitants of his home. The bell rang three more times, and Bilbo yanked the door open.

In came two mops of dirty blond hair. 'Oh no,' Bilbo thought. 'Of all times...'

"Hello, Mr. Baggins! Looks like you had a party last night!" Peregrin trotted through the house, silently laughing at the large men littering the floor.

"And he didn't even invite us!?" Meriadoc strolled inside in much the same fashion. Bilbo was angry enough as it was without these two around, but then a thought hit him.

"Where is Frodo?" He peeked his head around the door, and his nephew and "friend" made their way up the driveway. "Should be right behind us!" one of them answered.

'Oh no, my dear Frodo!' Bilbo frantically thought to himself, 'What will he think when he sees this? What will happen if I tell him what really happened? This was his idea to let strangers into my home, after all. Will he feel responsible for the damage? Oh, my sweet nephew! I can't let him feel ashamed of himself, even if he has put me through this!'

"Hey Bil- What happened in here!?" Frodo's eyes bulged out of their sockets as he scanned the living room. Bilbo didn't dare turn to see how everyone else ended their binge.

"He had a party last night! And of course he's the first one conscious, as always! Leave it to Bilbo to keep from getting piss drunk at his own party!" Meriadoc and Peregrin scoured the house for any remaining booze. 

'A party...I guess there's no better explanation than that,' Bilbo thought. 

Of course Frodo found the thought of his uncle throwing a party with the likes of these men ridiculous, but he reasoned that he would rather not question it. He grabbed the star struck man next to him, dragging him inside.

A door down the hallway creaked open. Nori's head peered out at the utter destruction of their host's house. He ducked back in to harshly whisper something to Ori before leaving the safety of the room.

"Would you look at that? What a worthless lot." Bilbo inwardly agreed, keeping his head down and out of view from those who were conscious, yet trying to keep his gaze off of the drunkards stranded in the sea of his ruined carpet.

Soon, Ori stalked out as well. The more Bilbo looked at his poor house, the more sick he became. He couldn't deal with this, not now. He trudged to his room, slamming the door shut behind him, most likely stirring some of the men outside.

"What's his problem?" "Pippin! Not now!"

It was slowly becoming harder for Frodo to ignore the bodies on the ground. He stared intently at the biggest one. Bald, tattoos, menacingly large muscles. His body shivered. 'Maybe I should have brought more than just Merry and Pippin...' he thought to himself.

 

~

Bilbo shook with rage. He sat at his desk, head in his hands. He felt like grabbing the nearest object and tossing it across the room, which only heightened when someone started knocking.

With his chosen object on hand, he reluctantly called, "Come in!"

The rustling of the doorknob only irritated him further, along with the long squeak of the door's hinges. Before he could comprehend what he was holding, the object collided with the face of whoever came to greet him.

Finally seeing through his rage, he watched a box of tissues bounce off of Ori's head. "Oh gosh, Ori, I'm so sorry!" Ori ignored it, reaching down to pick up the tissues. He calmly walked across the room to stand next to Bilbo, setting them down. "It's alright, don't worry about it."

Bilbo turned back to his papers, still feeling Ori's presence. "Right, did you want something?" Ori's fidgeting told him yes, but he decided not to press further until he was ready. It surprised Bilbo how he could be so open to the others, yet be so scared of him.

Eventually, he blurted out, "I'm really sorry for what everyone did to your home!" Bilbo's head sunk low on his shoulders. Of all the people to apologize to him, Ori definitely wasn't one. "Don't worry about it, you couldn't have stopped them anyway." His mind went back to a certain man who should have at least tried to intervene. "I really don't think any one of us could have on our own." Bilbo snorted, closing an open notebook on his desk. "You're quite sure of that? I thought Thorin was supposed to be in charge?"

Ori backed up a step or two. "When you know all of these guys for a long time, you realize that sometimes it's better not to get involved." Bilbo thought back to Ori's brothers for a moment. "Did you learn that from Nori?" Ori shook his head, though Bilbo was still turned away from him. "I learned that from Dori...just last night."

Bilbo sighed. He was already this far into the brothers' endeavors. Maybe something can be done in this instance. "I thought you looked up to him more? He definitely mothers you, and you seem to go along with it."

Ori turned his head down, "Nori's right, he's just as bad as the rest of them."

Bilbo realized that trying to fix these brothers while in his current mood would get him nowhere. There were still things that needed to be sorted.... The groans rising from the living room only made his foul mood worse.

"I'll say. I can't believe what they've done...." He rose from his seat, looking straight ahead at Ori, who for once, appeared very grim. "I'm sorry, but I really need a moment alone. Maybe you can scrape those whelps off of my floor. I'd appreciate it."

Ori wordlessly ducked out of the room. The door clicked softly behind him. His absence allowed the ache in Bilbo's head flourish.

His ears were flooded with the sound of heavy footsteps, hushed voices, broken glass on hard wood floors, and cupboards opening and closing. He sunk back into his chair, shoving away the papers on his desk and resting his cheek on the cool wood. His hands cupped his ears and his eye lids fluttered until they closed. His mind was static and the nausea surrounded him.

He couldn't recall how long he had enclosed himself from the world, but when he snapped out of it, he could hear the soft knock of a fist against his door. 'A moment's all I asked...'

He let the knocking continue as his mind settled back into coping with the world. He let his face roll across his desk as the waves of comfort coursed through his body. 'I could fall asleep like this....' 

The distant call of his name wasn't enough to ward off the sleep that overcame his stressed mind. He knew he needed this.

~

Bilbo woke up feeling lighter than he had in days. The world around him was still fuzzy and incomprehensible. When it finally came to him where he was and how quiet it had been, he panicked. He dizzily stood up, face stinging from being plastered to his desk, his feet uncoordinated, and his mind still mainly composed of static.

He gave up trying to escape reality by sleeping it off and stumbled toward his door. He stopped for a moment, resting his head against the door and considering his options. Laying his hand on the doorknob, he took a deep breath and opened it.

Bilbo was surprised to see that his carpet was not set on fire, nor covered in bodily fluids, or even bodies. Peering from behind the wall, he saw nothing unusual. His heart sped up, mind traveling to the worst possible scenarios. Anything could have happened.

But as he came out to the living room, he found it was spotless and again, no bodies. 'Did I just dream them all?' Bilbo thought to himself. He flopped down into his armchair-no longer covered in leftovers- and relaxed into it.

Shouts from outside brought Bilbo out of his comfort once more, also assuring that the men who had pillaged his home were not imaginary. Thinking some sort of fight had broken out encouraged him to pull himself out of his nice, comfortable chair and bring his eye to the peephole in his front door. He came to realize how long he had been asleep as he saw the dark sky.

Just on his porch sat every man that had been occupying his home for the last few weeks. Most looked terribly worn out, but cleaned up, and the one doing the shouting was Thorin. His teeth were bared much like a wolf's which made Bilbo's skin crawl at the thought of him yelling at the man the night before. 

He appeared absolutely furious. 'Why couldn't he have taken care of them sooner?' Bilbo wondered.

Putting some thought into it, Bilbo realized his home smelt of cleaning products rather than vomit and....excrement. 'He must have forced them to clean the entire place.'

Bilbo stepped away from the door, heading toward his spotless kitchen. 'They won't be here much longer anyway...' He began to pull out pots and pans, searching for things to make a meal out of in his pantry.

'I believe Thorin has everything together now...and they aren't all so bad...and the company is very welcome...'

Bilbo's ears twitched at the sound of his heavy front door slamming shut. It was followed by the sound of a throat clearing, and large feet thudding against the carpeted floor.

The steps stopped at the entryway, causing Bilbo to turn to face a ruffled looking, red faced Thorin. He offered a smile, relaxing the larger man enough to step inside. "Could you please set the table?"

Thorin remained silent. Bilbo's smile fell, and he turned back to making dinner.

"I feel we have overstayed out welcome."

Bilbo pursed his lips. "You're almost all moved in...and you did clean up after yourselves....you can stay for a few more days."

Thorin nodded, still feeling he was indebted to the short man. The way he had blown up the other night...

Bilbo turned his head to look at him and he could see the bruise he knew would form from that night. He felt sick causing the man so much trouble. And he was still so kind.

"Thorin...?"

Thorin looked deep into those lonely blue eyes, remembering the soft knock at his door and the man coming into his room to spend the night with him. He had been so absorbed in the disappointment he felt for his friends and family that that moment had been pushed to the back of his mind.

'What could he have wanted that for?'

"Yes?"

Bilbo smiled, and his eyes lit up. Thorin realized how hard it was to think straight in his presence. Not that any other day had made him believe otherwise.

"Would you mind setting the table then...?"

"Of course."

~

When dinner was prepared, Thorin stepped outside to bring the others inside. They all kept their heads down in shame as they walk in a single file line. The front door shut behind them, and Bilbo stepped out into the living room to see them. It only took one glare from Thorin before they all spat out their apologies at once.

"Alright! That's enough! It's time for dinner!"

Dinner was quiet, but peaceful, and when everyone finished, they went straight to their rooms, excluding Thorin and Bilbo.  
They sat in the living room. Bilbo asked about what happened while he was asleep.

"Where did my nephew and his friends go?"

Thorin shook his head. "I don't know. They ran off as soon as I came out and started yelling at everyone."

Bilbo laughed.

Thorin sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't do anything about them the other night.

Bilbo snorted, "It's quite alright. I didn't know what I expected you to do about them anyway."

"I'm so disgusted with them," Thorin stated, rising from the couch. "Only a few more nights that I have to sleep in the same room as them."

"You could sleep in my room tonight!" Bilbo blurted out. "If you wish to that is!"

Thorin turned his face to smile away from Bilbo's gaze. He strolled down the hall, replying, "I think that would be nice."

Bilbo hopped up to follow him, turning all the lights out behind him.

They entered his room, and Thorin stopped to take it all in. He mostly stared at the papers littering Bilbo's desk.

Bilbo pulled a few blankets out of a drawer, and tossed them on the floor. 'Why does one man have so many blankets?' Thorin wondered.

"I'll sleep on the floor and you can take my bed."

"You will keep your bed, and I will sleep on the floor. Alright?"

Bilbo was reluctant, but he eventually nodded and lied down on his bed. Thorin rounded the blankets into a makeshift bed and lied down as well.

Bilbo was quickly becoming used to sleeping with someone else in the room, finding it to be very pleasant. It made him feel like he wasn't so alone. He fell asleep quicker than he had in years. Thorin could hear the long, easy breaths, which also made it easier for him to relax.

Thorin was glad to be forgiven, but the thought of leaving in the next few days made him feel ill. He knew he would miss Bilbo, and who could say that they could continue to be friends after all the trouble?

It would be a matter for another day...so he went to sleep thinking of the man asleep in the bed beside him.


End file.
